Application of a constant blood withdrawal method in equine exercise physiology studies.

The research article is about the method of constant blood withdrawal in horses during treadmill exercise to study the kinetics of lactate and other blood-borne variables over time.

Objective of the Research

The purpose of this study was to examine and test a constant blood withdrawal method (CBWM) to collect blood samples from horses during treadmill exercises. The idea was to gather data on the kinetics of lactate and other blood-borne substances over time through this process.

Methodology

• The CBWM was performed on 4 Standardbred and 5 Haflinger breeds of horses.
• A peristaltic pump was employed for the blood aspiration process from an intravenous catheter using an extension line.
• An automatic fractions collector was used to collect the blood samples with a constant delay time between the extraction of blood and sample collection.
• The research was conducted during a standardized treadmill exercise test (SET).
• A blood flow rate of 12 milliliters per minute was maintained with samples collected every 60 seconds for the duration of exercise.

Results

• The mean volume of collected blood in each sample tube was 12.1 ±0.2 ml with an average delay time of about 25.3 ±0.8 seconds.
• The analysis of plasma lactate content in each fraction revealed an exponential increase during the first 13 minutes of exercise, which consisted of 10.5 minutes of SET and 2.5 minutes of recovery.
• The peak plasma lactate concentration was observed between 2.5 and 5.5 minutes after SET termination.

Conclusion

The research concluded that the CBWM effectively allows the study of lactate kinetics and other blood-borne variables over time. Thus, it could be a useful tool in equine exercise physiology studies.